06/23/2026
The students on the Beam Institute’s and Honors College’s Distillation and Teamwork in Scotland program just returned from 2 awesome days in the Highlands and Speyside regions of Scotland!!
Monday revolved around Barley. We learned at the John Hutton Institute’s Barley Hub about the importance of barley research. A huge thanks to Dan Langford and Barley Hub Director Tim George, for hosting us.
After that, we got to visit Bairds Maltsters to learn about the malting process on an industrial scale. A huge thank you to Dan Langford for not only showing us around the institute, but also for working with one of our student teams on a capstone project.
On Tuesday, after spending the night in Braemar, we traveled to the Speyside region to visit Speyside Cooperage, where Master Cooper Gary Turner taught us about the art and craft of making and repairing barrels. For the afternoon, we were treated to a lunch at Ballindalloch Castle and Estate, where 23rd generation owner Guy Macpherson-Grant welcomed us. Ballindalloch Distillery is the newest member of the Estate Wh***ey Alliance and grows, mills, distills, ages and bottles all their wh**ky on the estate. The family has lived on the grounds since the 15th century. Guy’s mother, Clare, was recently given the honor of becoming a Kentucky Colonel and proudly showed us her framed certificate.
The teams at Speyside and Ballindalloch were incredible hosts, teachers and an inspiration to our students. Thank you so much.
Fun Fact: The Fife Arms in Braemar (where we did NOT spend the night) has an original Picasso in their space which can be viewed by anyone wandering in.
